“I am also responsible for supervising library services in England.” Ed Vaizey, it is generally agreed, has notably failed to supervise library services since he took office. Despite the deepest cuts to library services in peacetime history, he has failed to order a single inquiry into cuts. This despite reductions in service including: the closure of othewise taking out of council control more than half the total number of libraries (Brent and Doncaster), nearly half of libraries (Isle of Wight) or a third of opening hours (Hertfordshire). In four authorities (Somerset, Gloucestershire, Surrey and Brent) Ed has sat back and done nothing while library users have had to challenge the decision and pay for it from their own pockets. Worse, in the Isle of Wight and Lewisham, he sat back while campaigners tried to fight deep cuts and did nothing when they failed to raise the money. He even on 11th April put up a strong defence of his inaction.

“…and it is worth remembering that they have always been funded by local authorities, never by central government.”. Classic “it’s nothing to do with me” Vaizey. While it is true that the funding is from local authorities, Ed has done nothing to, in any way, defend the budgets of library services from the worst damage. In some authorities, 50% of the budget is being cut. For a service that does so much to encourage literacy, equality, learning and creativity, this is shocking. It’s like leaving a baby outside for the wolves because it’s not technically your baby. Also, it doesn’t quite make sense: he admits in the previous sentences that he has responsibility for supervising them and then appears to distance himself from their funding. Presumably, he feels that somehow their funding or lack of it is nothing to do with their performance. A curious proposition, at best.

“Many people claim libraries are under threat.” Somewhat of an understatement this. Perhaps he means, “everyone else apart from me and those directly paid to do otherwise”. The nation is aware libraries are under threat. There has even been – and we can assume Ed Vaizey knows about this being he had to give evidence at it – a parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry into Library Closures. Presumably he is including the MPs in this committee, over half from his own party, as scaremongers.

“In fact there are as many libraries today as there were thirty years ago.”. Yes, there is. Just about. Of course, the libraries thirty years ago had longer opening hours, decent book stock, trained – even paid – staff, non-leaking roofs. This is the danger of “hollowing out” of a service: the buildings can remain but there is nothing in them. The oak tree still stands but it is empty inside and awaiting collapse.

“many have also opened”. Almost all of these have been to replace libraries no longer suitable for purpose. Of course, due to the time taken for building libraries, the money for these openings was largely committed under the previous Government. Some big central libraries – such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester – won’t open for another year or two, although work started in 2009 or before. Ed Vaizey will doubtless claim credit for them too. Also, notice the semantics here – he uses the word “some” for closures and “many” for openings, suggesting that there are more openings than closures. Clever but perhaps slightly deceptive.

“talk of 600 libraries closing is very well wide of the mark”. Well, yes it would be, if ever someone actually said it. The figure is from an estimate from CILIP of libraries under threat made last year. Not closed. We know from media reports that 377 have either closed or are under threat at this moment in time. These are the cases where the media are already involved. Speaking personally, though, I am actually surprised that the figure from reports is not currently 600. Of course, this could have something to do with the massive public protest when libraries do close and the legal actions that the public have paid for to stop them doing so. Certainly, it has nothing to do with Ed Vaizey.

“In fact, we have taken action to support libraries. We have given responsibility to support them to the Arts Council, which gives libraries and cultural organisations the chance to work together.” With £3m rather than the £13m that the MLA had for the same purpose. Also, libraries and culture are not the world’s safest mix at the moment, considering the Government is massively cutting its spending on the Arts and, through the withdrawal of tax incentives, cutting private spending on them as well.

“We have funded two development programmes to share best practice between library authorities.” Really, providing two chances for senior staff to send information with eachother is the best you can do?

“ACE is undertaking extensive consultation on what library services will look like in the future so we can anticipate their needs.” In a time of national crisis, another consultation is all we need. Especially as none of the other ones resulted in anything. It is well known that the best excuse for doing nothing is to launch a consultation or an enquiry. It’s also, due to reasons covered earlier, not the best funded consultation. For example, the public consultation uses a barely changed free blogging format. It also seems to be heavily biased, if the blog posts are anything to go by, to big airy subjects with only a tenuous basis for the reality on the ground.

“And we are working on specific programmes to give libraries further support”. Presumably, support including guidelines training for volunteers and how to get by on book donations. Expect big-sounding initiatives with no real funding behind them. Words like “challenge” and “transformation” will undoubtedly be used.

“There are dozens of national programmes like World Book Night which support reading“. Like, for instance, BookStart which had its funding halved in the first year that the current Government took office and would have lost it all without massive protest.

“And with a network of almost 3,500 libraries in England alone, many places where reading can be supported and encouraged.” But not, one fears, for much longer.

“The Brent campaigners could take Mr Vaizey to the empty buildings. The Gloucestershire campaigners could detail their long battle to protect the service in their county. The Friern Barnet campaigners could detail their struggle to keep a beloved library open. In Liverpool we could take Ed on a tour of three lost branches. Of course some new libraries have opened, but that is only part of the story. What we need to hear from the Minister is how the experience of the best library services is generalised so that the worst are brought up to that standard. Furthermore, the narrative is not simply about physical buildings that have closed or may close. It is also about the slashed opening hours, the redundant librarians, the reduced book stock.” Alan Gibbons. See also a summary of the situation provided by Desmond Clarke.

News

“Coarse language” and violence top list of UK parents’ complaints about books– Guardian. Reports on yesterdays Telegraph article on challenges to book titles in UK libraries, apparently gained via Freedom of Information requests. Voices for the Library says “No professional librarian would withdraw a book due to a complaint unless it was under exceptional circumstances. Books may get temporarily withdrawn whilst policies are consulted, but it is exceptionally rare for permanent withdrawal. In the case of most books, they will be returned to the shelves in reasonable time” … “Clark expressed the concern that the growing tendency of councils to hand libraries over to volunteers would make the issue worse. “Community libraries will make withdrawal of books (or censorship) more common as the staff, unlike librarians, are not bound by professional ethics”.

“So that’s 150 complaints about children’s books between 98 boroughs over 5 years. My maths gives out here but it doesn’t sound as if anyone is exactly overwhelmed with Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells-type missives” Comment on LIS-PUB-LIBS.

Library members can now borrow books from any library throughout Ireland– Information Daily. Citizens of Eire and the Northern Ireland can now use their library card to borrow books from anywhere on the island. ““Libraries are at the heart of local communities. They deliver an important public service. It’s a positive step that book borrowing services are available across Ireland. Library members, north and south will be able to use their nearest or most convenient library, or a library where they go on holiday. There is a lot to be gained from an all-Ireland approach which will improve the delivery of key public services.”

Three unwritten rules I think you should know about using yout library (it wasn’t like this in my day) – Nilam Ashra-McGrath. Unwritten rules are (a) appear quiet while not actually being quiet (e.g. typing, texting, etc) “Libraries are still sanctuaries, but now they come with a cloud of white noise”, (b) bring something (food, drink, bag, phone), (c) romance goes on. “The aim of these rules isn’t to mystify, they’re just there to help you make sense of a diminishing world. Don’t let the changes happening to your library put you off using them, just make use of your library while you can.”. [Not sure if I agree with the first and last rules: “my” library is loud, ideally with a happy buzz, except in the reference section and there is nothing more important than books, not even romance].

Local News

Brent – Art work responds to Brent library closures– Harrow Observer. “Local artist, Mali, created the work in reaction to Brent Council’s unpopular decision to close half of the borough’s libraries, despite fierce opposition from library users. Mali has wrapped up books in hessian to ‘represent the impossibility of access to culture that the closing down of libraries represents’. The work will be on show at The BAR Gallery, Willesden Green, from May 8 to June 1 and admission is free. A spokesman for the gallery said: “The books are there for you to read, but you can’t open them and they become useless and unwanted.”

Temporary reading room in Wembley opened by Friends of Barham Library– Brent & Kilburn Times. Library “closed down last year by Brent Council alongside Cricklewood, Kensal Rise, Neasden, Preston and Tokyngton libraries in a move which will save the local authority £1m. The new facility, which will be open on weekends only initially, will offer a variety of activities including free talks and “read-ins” while residents are also encouraged to bring books their own books to add to the growing collection.”

Kent – Library and history centre opens in Maidstone– BBC. “Archives that stretch about 14km (9 miles) have been housed in a new library centre opened in Kent. The Kent History and Library Centre in James Whatman Way, Maidstone, has been built to protect and display the historic documents.”

Oxfordshire – Oxford submits bid to become World Book Capital– BBC. “The designation is given to cities to promote reading and literature. Oxford is aiming to become the first English-speaking location to hold the title. If successful, a programme of events would be staged, including conferences, festivals, plays and writing competitions. Bid director Kathelene Weiss said the events planned would “promote a love of reading” in the city.”

Somerset – County Council library survey under way– BBC. “Last November a judicial review ruled a decision to withdraw funding to 11 libraries in the county was “unlawful”. Councillor Christine Lawrence said: “Our aim is always to deliver the best possible service within the resources we have.” The Conservative-led authority cancelled its plans to cut £1.35m from its library budget as a result of last year’s ruling.”

This entry was posted by Ian Anstice on April 23, 2012 at 10:23 pm, and is filed under Uncategorized. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

An excellent riposte to Vaizey’s spin, well done!On the subject of the ACE consultation, I, and others, are extremely concerned about the way it’s being conducted, the initial panel discussion was made up of senior library management, mostly SCL and ALCL members who have been responsible for cutting their services and pushing the ‘neo-liberal’ agenda, hardly a balanced discussion! The rest of the ‘consultation’ involves a blog site with ‘airy fairy’ discussions and a number of regional seminars next month which hopefully will be attended by some users, front line staff and campaigners? The whole thing up untill now, like the majority of library consultations, has been a bit of a sham!

There is much support for libraries amongst the public, but I worry about the future of Librarianship as a profession. I am 37 and potentially have 30 years (or more) left of my career. If libraries are stripped back to nothing, what is going to happen to the librarians of today? Where will they go? Such drastic measures will surely effect jobs in the UK, and this is something Ed Vaizey ‘should’ worry about.

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Numbers

From 1st January 2017, 100 libraries are under threat (5 in Bath, 17 in Bristol, 17 in Bury, 5 in Cheshire East, 3 in Cumbria, 7 in East Sussex, 4 in Liverpool, 7 in Midlothian, 21 in Northamptonshire, 10 in Plymouth, 4 in South Tyneside).

Since 1st April 2016 to end of March 2017. CIPFA reported 105 libraries closed, bringing the total to 3745 branches. 2015 to end of March 2016: CIPFA reported 121 libraries closed, bringing the total to 3850 libraries.
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(April 1st 2015 to end of March 2016) 211 static and 39 mobile libraries (Aberdeen, Bracknell Forest, Bradford, Brighton & Hove, Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire, Ceredigion, Croydon, Darlington, Dorset, Enfield, Falkirk, Fife, Greenwich, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kirklees, Lambeth, Lancashire, Lewisham, Neath Port Talbot, Norfolk, Nottingham, Orkney, Oxfordshire, Pembrokeshire, Reading, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Ayrshire, South Gloucestershire, South Lanarkshire, Staffordshire, Stockton, Swindon, Telford & Wrekin, Walsall, West Berkshire and Wiltshire) have been put under threat
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In financial year 2014/15, there was a decline of 106 public libraries, (with 260 static libraries were put under threat of closure/passing to volunteers. 9 mobile libraries under threat in the same period). .

There are currently 3850 libraries in the UK (CIPFA figures for 2015/16). There were 4023 in 2013/14, 4482 in 2009/10 and 4622 in 2003/4.
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The complete list is on "Tally by Local Authority" page as are other changes to budgets such as cuts to hours, bookfund and staffing. CIpfa have calculated that 121 service points lost in 2015/16, 106 service points were lost in 2014/15, 49 were lost in 2013/14, 74 were lost in 2012/13, 201 in 2011/12, 33 in 2010/11.
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For a list of new and refurbished buildings see this page,

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